Solar Energy Is An Investment

By Author: Peter Clarck
Total Articles: 19
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Solar energy is more of an investment today than just the obvious money you’ll be saving on your home consumption. This clean, non-polluting and renewable form of energy is a new form of long-term monetary investment as well, since U.S. taxpayers are now able to enjoy federal tax credits for any solar electric or hot water system they purchase through 2016. Solar energy consumers are given about 30 percent off the total system cost, which includes the installation cost. (Note that tax credit is different from a tax deduction -- the former reduces the tax per dollar.) This benefit is heavily touted by municipalities, governments, and even utility providers as a valuable incentive, as they work hard to make solar energy more affordable.

But using solar energy is more than substituting a fossil-fueled energy with a renewable energy. To better understand the economics of a solar system purchase, it is important to know what you will be getting for your money. As with many of life’s routine purchases, experience tells us that the cheapest service may not give us the best results. Do we then go for the most expensive service? ...
... That is not necessarily the ideal option either. To make an intelligent purchase that justifies our investment, we need to consider all the pros and cons of a particular purchase. There are many logical factors involved in a purchase that need to be considered before we commit.

Still, it can be quite difficult to assess all the factors involved in an energy purchase, as not all factors are tangible or discrete. Considering, however, the increasing health problems that we are experiencing on both a local and global scale -- like increased asthma and other respiratory ailments, smog and climate pollution, the continuing destructive effects on the oceans and forests -- one should really consider how the serious effects of fossil-fuel combustion and emission can impact our lives and how we might be able to make our own impact by removing ourselves from the destructive cycles.

For those fortunate to live in a relatively clean environment, it may be difficult to justify paying the initial high price for a solar system when they are not experiencing the ill effects of a fossil fuel dependent system. But the carbon dioxide emissions from a simple dishwasher or refrigerator, for example, are exacting a price on the environment as a whole, if not your direct breathing air. Hence, it is up to the federal and state governments to regulate the playing field for solar energy, which they are doing with the tax credits. When consumers are given more attractive incentives to replace polluting and non-renewable forms of energy with quality solar systems, fiscal investments in them take on a brighter future.

The cost of a solar system varies greatly from state to state, but your choices are expanding and the playing field is leveling even as you read this.

About Author:

Peter Clark is an energy and water management specialist guiding others to save energy and water. Check www.Solar365.com if you like to know more about solar energy or solar photovoltaic systems.